Pumping Eggs

My husband asked me to participate in a contest that Abraham Piper has going on.  The challenge is to write a 22 word story for or about children.  So, here is my story...

When speaking one morning about my desire to get backyard chickens, my daughter asked for clarification saying, "You mean that pump eggs?"

A new book by Dr. R.C. Sproul

I thank the LORD for R.C. Sproul. In my mind, he is like a godly grandfather who gives sound advice, and wisdom. I was first introduced to Dr. Sproul back in 2002 when I was studying eschatology. His book, The Last Days According to Jesus, has forever impacted me. During a time of turmoil in my mind in regards to understanding eschatology, Dr. Sproul's teaching helped me to understand many things that were previously so strange and obscure. Of course, as for many families, he had a major impact on our family's understanding of reformed theology. Dr. Sproul explains complicated things so well, and he is a wonderful person to learn from. My husband and I have collectively read a number of his books, and listened to a countless number of his teachings.

I think that Dr. Sproul is most unique in the way that he explains theology to children. It is amazing to me that a man who teaches theology (which can be a hard thing for many to understand) explains it so well to little children. Our family has owned Dr. Sproul's children's books for years. The first that we ever owned was  The Priest with Dirty Clothes. I still remember the Christmas that our then 3 year old daughter received that from us a gift. She was so excited. It was her favorite book for a long time. She asked my husband and me to read that book to her so many times. She would even ask visitors to our home to read it to her. A few years ago, she asked for The Lightlings as a Christmas present. I didn't think we were going to be able to get it for her. I went to a local Presbyterian bookstore to get it that year, and they were out. But in the LORD's Providence, He provided for her as I was getting the children buckled in the car. As we were buckling, a lady came to the store to return a copy. The lady that worked at the store ran out to our van to tell me that it had been returned. It was so wonderful seeing God's Providence. That book proved to be a favorite for her as well. By that time, she could read herself, and she read it over and over many times.

I believe that Dr. Sproul has once again written a book that explains theological truths in a wonderful way. His book The Prince's Poison Cup does just that. The Prince's Poison Cup is about a little girl who wants to understand why her medicine tastes so bad if it is good for her. She asks her grandfather this question, and he tells her the story of a Prince who once drank something that tasted really bad, and in fact was even poisonous, but was done for a really good reason.

This book is very appealing story wise and visually. Dr. Sproul is such a good storyteller, and he has indeed done a great job with this book as well. The book's illustrator, Justin Gerard did an excellent job. He also illustrated Dr. Sproul's book, The Lightlings. The pictures are captivating, and certainly hold the attention of children. My two year old was immediately drawn to the pictures which of course held her attention to listen to the story (important for very little ones).

I think this book is going to be another family favorite in the Bradley household. I look forward to reading this story many times to my children. I would highly recommend this book if someone is looking for a good Christmas present to a child of any age.   

Fair Day for the Bradleys

We went to the fair on Tuesday. The children have been counting down the days. Shane even took off so we could all go as a family. Honestly, I don't think I would have taken all 5 to the fair without him. That would be TOO hard!!




We had a fun time. The fair had free admission and parking between the hours of 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., so that was a plus. I think it was probably the best time to go.





My oldest, Sweet Pea, entered some art work and some arts and crafts for the fair. She won first place for a pillow that she entered. I entered a knit hat, as well as baby pictures of two of my children. The photograph of my youngest won an Honorable mention. It was nice for us to win some prizes. We're happy.




We really enjoyed the animals. I think our favorite animal at the fair was a camel. The camel that was at the fair was really cute. Shane and I have been watching Lawrence of Arabia for the past few days. We both thought it was so cool that they rode on camels. We talked about how cool it would be to ride one. We had no idea that we would see a real camel at the fair. Now, after seeing the cute camel, Shane said that he wants to get one. He said that I'll have goats, and he'll have camels. Can you even keep camels in Tennessee? Does it get too cold for them? Us and our crazy dreams. My children liked the Little Buckaroo Barn. It had a milking simulator. My children really got into that. Sweet Pea said that she was practicing for the milking contest at the International Goat Days Festival. There was also a combine harvester for the children to sit in and watch a video about harvesting. We ended up spending a lot of time there.



Of course we let the children ride a few rides. I was too chicken to ride on anything, but Shane rode a couple of big kid rides with Sweet Pea.




Overall, we had a fun day. The fair is not going to be in Memphis next year, so I am not sure if we will travel the extra miles to go next year. We'll see.

Encouraging words in an unexpected place

I took the children to Dollar Tree yesterday to let them pick out some balloons and gifts as a part of my Aunt Brenda's belated birthday gift. Now, going anywhere with my five children ages 7 and under is a feat, but I think that I am finally getting used to it. I've been mommy to 5 for five months now. But we made it in, found our gifts and balloons, and proceeded to check out.


Well, the young man who was running the cash register at the store was probably about 19 or 20. He had a very cheerful attitude, and said to me, “Are all these beautiful children yours?” I said, “Yes”. He then said to me, “Is this all you have or do you have more?” I responded, “This is all I have, so far”. His response was very surprising. He said, “So far? That's what I like to hear”. As I was leaving he said to me, “God bless you for having all these beautiful children”.


I walked away so surprised. It was great to not get the typical, “You've got your hands full!!” I was in shock for a while. Hearing encouraging words from a young man at the dollar store was the last place I would have expected, but it was very refreshing. I thank the LORD for pleasant surprises in unexpected places.

Sip and See

Our church held a delightful Sip and See for me and the baby. We were blessed with so many diapers. It will be a while before we will need to purchase diapers for the baby. We were also blessed with a new carseat and many other special gifts. Here are a few pictures.

My Aunt Brenda and my mother-in-law, Dianne


Mom, myself, and my firstborn



One of the many packages of diapers we were blessed with


The baby slept the entire time

Family Update

Well, it has been a while since I have posted. My wonderful husband posted the announcement of our daughter. I guess it is time for me to post an update on our family.

Life as a mother of five ages seven and under, has not been as hard as I expected. Now, I admit, I have my hard days. I think it is especially hard since we homeschool, but I have to give praise to God for sustaining me, and helping me through each day.

We joined the church that we have been visiting for a while. It is wonderful to have a home church again. We joined the Sunday that I returned after the birth of our daughter. A few weeks ago, the church had a sweet Sip and See for us. I will post about it later.

Our children are all doing well. My oldest is really enjoying reading. She recently read Where the Red Fern Grows, and really enjoyed it. She also read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in one day. I am so thankful that my little girl enjoys reading. It is hard to keep enough books available for her. My second born has not officially started school, but she is very interested in learning. She comes to me almost daily asking to do homeschool. Just last week, she found a book and copied the title of it onto a piece of paper. All of her own accord. She did such a good job. My son is growing well as well as our two baby girls.

I will end this post with some pictures.

My second born with the baby.

Me with all the kiddos.

New Edition

Please join me in welcoming our newest edition to the outside world. We now have a beautiful baby girl. She was born on 12/28/2007 at 08:43. She weighed in at 6 lbs 6 oz and was 19.5 in.
Sincerely,

The Bradleys